Equation Editor

To create an interactive item question, begin by creating a new test in Aware or open an existing test to add new questions.

Note: Assessments with interactive response questions can be printed as test booklets only. Answer documents are not available for these question types. This test is not scannable, nor will it have student IDs, class numbers, or any other information. Teachers must use the Enter Answers feature to manually input student responses for students taking a paper version of the assessment.

Creating a Text Entry Question With the Equation Editor

The equation editor is only available for text entry questions. TEA suggests text entry for use in mathematics, reading, language arts, and science assessments, but text entry is available for any assessment. Text entry follows TEA’s examples and may be used in conjunction with text, images, and tables. 

Quick Guide

1. When working on an assessment, go to the Questions tab and do the following:
   • If this is the first time adding a question, select the Interactive Item Types button.
   • If adding more questions, select the Plus sign and choose Interactive Item Types from the drop-down menu.
2. Select Text Entry.
3. Use the text box and controls to enter the Text Entry question. Use the Add Placeholder Response button to indicate where the text entry box should be located.
4. Select Continue.
5. In the Question Preview, select a text box and enter the correct answer using either the Elementary Math Editor or Secondary Math Editor.
6. When complete, select Create / Update.

Illustrated Guide

Step 1: When creating or editing an assessment in Aware, navigate to the Questions tab and do the following:

• If this is the first time adding a question to the assessment, select the Interactive Item Types button.
• If you want to add more questions to an existing assessment, select the Plus sign above or below an existing question and choose Interactive Item Types from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: On the Choose your interaction type step, select Text Entry from the available question types.

Step 3: On the Construct your question step, use the text box and controls to enter a prompt for the text entry question. Use the Add Placeholder Response button to indicate where the text entry box should be located. 

Do not highlight any text to create a placeholder item. The equation editor will not work if the placeholder item is created from highlighted text. 

Step 4: Select Continue to move on to the next step.

Step 5: Select a text box in the Question Preview. Under Settings for Selected Field, choose Elementary Math Editor or Secondary Math Editor from the drop-down menu. Input the correct answer using the selected equation editor. Add multiple correct answers if needed. You can use both equation editors on a single question. However, you can only apply one equation editor to a single text box field.

Note: For automatic grading to work correctly, the test author must use the equation editor to input the correct response.

The default Text Editor is for a standard text entry question and is not used for equation editor questions. Alternative text can be applied anywhere Latex is used for math. Alternative text is available on questions, answer choices, and resources. Alternative text functions like a content clarifier and can be added from a Questions tab, not from the Test Editor. 

Note: The elementary and secondary equation editors use different answer formatting. When using an equation editor, entering answers before changing the type of editor clears all correct answers. A warning message appears before any answers are cleared.

The Elementary Math Editor is intended for grades K-5 and contains the following capabilities:

Numbers 0-9 Fraction Decimal Less Than Greater Than Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction Negative Sign Parenthesis Equal Sign

The Secondary Math Editor is intended for grades 6-12 and contains the same capabilities as the Elementary Math Editor along with several additions:

x y z Pi Square Root Superscript Less Than or Equal to Greater Than or Equal to Subscript

Note: When test authors or students click the multiplication symbol (x) in the Secondary Math Editor, it will appear as a center dot (⋅) in the text box.

Step 6: Review the preview, and then select Create or Update to save the assessment question.

Student Experience 

Students see the text entry question during online testing. The equation editor appears once they click on a text box.

Students can use the equation editor to input their answers. The Elementary and Secondary Math Editors allow students to type additional letters using a keyboard. This is helpful to accommodate a variety of variables. Students can also use the keyboard for the following keystrokes:

• Left
• Right
• Up
• Down
• Tab
• 0-9
• + 
• - 
• . 
• ,
• =

Mark As Correct

In a test, it is possible for a teacher to overwrite student-generated text to change an incorrect answer to correct. However, leaving the student text as it is and selecting Mark as Correct maintains the integrity of the data. If the Mark as Correct button is incorrectly selected, teachers can select Unmark Correct to revert the changes.

If a teacher has marked a question correct for a student, then the data view for Student Individual Responses updates. and the field is highlighted blue.

If a student submits a correct answer that the test author did not include when originally creating the question, the test author can add the answer and any other variations after the assessment is active.

Note: Adding additional answer choices after testing has begun may require a Rescore.

Data Analysis

Viewing Responses in Quick Views

Question Type is available in Quick Views. Access Quick Views through the navigation bar or through the Quick Views card.

Once in Quick Views, use the search field to find and select the assessment(s) you want to analyze. Choose the Student Individual Responses template from the drop-down menu. Select Apply to continue.

In data analysis, interactive items will be indicated next to the scores for each question. Teachers can view the exact question asked on the Enter Answers screen and modify student answers if needed.

Show or Hide the Question Type Column

If the table does not display the type of question, you can customize which columns appear or do not appear from the Edit menu. Select the Columns tab, and then expand the Responses folder. Drag the Question Type option to the empty space on the right side of the screen. Then, select Update to apply your changes. For more information, see Editing Data Views as a Teacher.

The Question Type column shows the type of question asked and the corresponding question number.

Allowing Teachers to Answer and Score Assessment Questions

For district- and school-level tests, the Questions teachers can answer and score option must be set to All Questions to enable editing privileges. Locate this setting in Administration > Collection > General Settings when authoring or editing an assessment in Aware.

Additional Information

Visit the Interactive Item Types FAQ for more information.